First time contractor FAQs

The initial question of many first time contractors is: from this hourly rate / day rate contract I have been offered, what will I take home?

This is the proverbial piece of string question; we have developed an online calculator to give you a good indication of what you should expect to take home from one tax year to the next.

The calculator can only give you an indication of your take home. At Integro Accounting we know every client is unique and strongly advise you to contact us and spend just a few minutes confirming your situation. We can then give you an accurate tailored answer to what you can expect to take home.

I have a contract of £xyz, should I be taking the umbrella route or the limited company option?

As every client is different, there is no magic number where we can say ‘oh that means you have to take this route’ when answering this question.

The general rule of thumb is for a contract that lasts longer than 3 months or generates a revenue stream greater than £25,000 the limited company option will be better financially for the contractor; but please do seek professional advice if you are taking this decision.

If you contact one of our accountants and spend a few minutes going over your situation, we will then advise you free of charge which route is going to be best for you and supply you with the figures and our calculations to back this up.

I want to switch from working via an umbrella to working through my own limited company, is this easy?

It is surprisingly straight forward to do this; the first 3 steps are simply to:

form a limited company

speak with your client and / or agency, advising of your intent

open a business bank account

Once you have the above underway, then it is normal for you to arrange business insurances for the company and to do a little research on who to retain as tax and accounting advisor; at this point we strongly recommend that you contact us for one of our free face to face meetings.

How do I pay myself?

There are a collection of different ways that your company can pay you, the two main ones are salary and dividends. You can pay yourself a salary as director and dividends as a shareholder as well as reimbursing yourself for any expenses you incur on behalf of the company.

The first time you speak with your accountant should start with them taking the time to make sure they understand your situation and work out the most tax efficient method for you to be paid by your company.

Your accountant should make sure you understand and are happy with how your company is paying you, whilst also making sure it is the most tax efficient way available.

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Why Integro Accounting?

Integro Accounting is the UK’s only specialist provider of fixed fee, limited company accountancy services for contractors, consultants and freelancers that was established to an award winning standard – our Practice Manager, Maria Williams, won The British Accountancy Awards’ ‘Accountant of the Year’ in 2011.

We were set up with the vision of providing a service that is the ultimate for the dynamic, busy professional of today in a language you understand.

Integro Accounting have designed a bespoke service for the contractor who is always on the go; never forgetting that one size will never fit all.

The relationship you have with your accountant is the most important factor in our service which is why we will always offer unlimited contact with your own personal accountant; whether that contact is via the phone, email or face to face.

We have our 3 offices located in London, the South-West and on the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire border. There are also meeting locations in many of the major cities and towns across the Home counties, South-West and South Wales, all conveniently placed so that you never have to travel far to meet your accountant.